Like other warmblood stud-books it is commonly considered to be a breed.

The British Warmblood Society was established in 1977 and opened a stud-book for sport horses; unlike most other European warmblood stud-books, registration was based not on progeny or performance testing but only on pedigree, conformation and veterinary inspection.

[2]: 33 [3]: 66 [4]: 185  Separate sections of the stud-book were maintained for the Hanoverian and Trakehner.

[5] The society was registered as a private limited company in 1986,[6] and in 1994 was approved by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to issue horse passports.

[9]: 54 In the stud-book rankings of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses in 2024, the British Warmblood was the 36th of 41 breeds listed in dressage, the 55th of 58 in show-jumping and the 36th of 58 in the three-day event.